EXHIBIT 99.1

Clearfield Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2016 Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD), the specialist in fiber management and connectivity platforms for communications providers, reported results for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2015.

      
 Fiscal Q1 2016 Financial Summary
 (in millions except per share data and percentages)Q1 2016vs. Q1 2015ChangeChange (%)
 Revenue$   15.7  $  14.0 $  1.7  12%
      
 Gross Profit$   6.7  $  5.7 $  1.0  16%
 Gross Margin 42.6% 41.1% 1.5% 4%
      
 Pre-Tax Income$   2.0  $  1.6 $  0.4  23%
 Income Tax Expense$   0.6  $  0.6 $  0.0  10%
      
 Net Income$   1.4  $  1.1 $  0.3  29%
 Net Income per Diluted Share$   0.10  $  0.08 $  0.02  25%
      

 

Fiscal Q1 2016 Financial Results
Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2016 increased 12% to $15.7 million from $14.0 million in the same year-ago quarter. The improvement was primarily due to increased deployments by the Company’s incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) and competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) customers. The revenue increase was partially offset by temporary project delays impacting customers outside the U.S.

Gross profit increased 16% to $6.7 million (42.6% of revenue) from $5.7 million (41.1% of revenue) in the first fiscal quarter of 2015.

Operating expenses were $4.7 million, an increase of 14% compared to $4.1 million in the same year-ago quarter.

Pre-tax income increased 23% to $2.0 million from $1.6 million in the same year-ago quarter.  

Net income increased 29% to $1.4 million or $0.10 per diluted share from $1.1 million or $0.08 per diluted share in the same year-ago quarter.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2015, cash, cash equivalents and investments increased 6% to $36.2 million from $34.3 million at the end of the prior quarter. The Company had no debt at quarter end. 

Order backlog (defined as purchase orders received but not yet fulfilled) at December 31, 2015 decreased 5% to $3.4 million from $3.5 million at September 30, 2015, and increased 37% from $2.5 million compared to December 31, 2014.

Management Commentary
“Our strong financial performance was evident in our Q1 results, which demonstrated another quarter of growth and profitability,” said Clearfield CEO, Cheri Beranek. “Revenue, gross profit and net income saw solid growth on a year-over-year basis, as we continued to penetrate the ILEC market and make steady progress on our key initiatives for fiscal 2016.

“To further these initiatives, we are judiciously increasing our capital expenditures to invest in our IT infrastructure and enterprise resource planning systems. We are also making investments to obtain necessary certifications that allow us the ‘right to hunt’ in the Tier 1 space. Additionally, we continue to strengthen our sales and marketing teams, in both executive and field positions, in order to broaden our customer outreach and increase our visibility in the marketplace, including in Tier 1, 2 and 3 ILEC communities, and with wireless service providers, cable operators and competitive carriers (CLECs). The strength of our competitive product offerings, which can reduce the total cost of ownership for a service provider by as much as 50%, gives us confidence in the future success of these efforts.

“The effect of the government broadband subsidy program, Connect America Fund Phase II, is also slowly starting to take shape throughout the industry. It has created an opportunity for Clearfield to capitalize on a major, industry-wide wave of fiber deployments, especially as service providers strive to remain technologically relevant. While the actual timing of fiber roll-outs could be delayed by factors outside of our control, we are positioning the Company for an anticipated major roll-out during the second half of our fiscal year.

“Given our fiscal Q1 results and progress on key initiatives, Clearfield remains on track for at least 10% revenue growth in fiscal 2016, with revenue growth accelerating in fiscal 2017 and beyond, and operating income growing in step with revenue.”

FieldReport
Clearfield issued its FieldReport for fiscal Q1 2016, which is available in the investor relations section of the Company’s website or by clicking here. Comprised of presentation slides with audio and video, the report provides additional insight into Clearfield’s financial and operational performance.

About Clearfield, Inc.
Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) designs, manufactures and distributes fiber optic management products for the communications networks of leading ILECS, CLECs, MSO/cable TV companies and mobile broadband providers. The Company helps service providers solve the Fiber Puzzle, which is how to reduce the high costs associated with deploying, managing, protecting and scaling a fiber optic network to deliver the mobile, residential and business services customers want. Based on the patented Clearview™ Cassette, Clearfield’s unique single-architected, modular fiber management platform is designed to lower the cost of broadband deployment and maintenance by consolidating, protecting and distributing incoming and outgoing fiber circuits, and enabling its customers to scale their operations as their subscriber revenues increase. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year. For more information, visit www.seeclearfield.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking statements contained herein and in the FieldReport are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,”  “will,”  “expect,”  “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “outlook,” or “continue” or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward looking statements include, for example, statements about the Company’s future revenue and operating performance, growth of the FTTH market, effectiveness of the Company’s sales and marketing strategies and organization, utilization of manufacturing capacity, and the development and marketing of products. These statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and judgments about future developments in the Company's business. Certain important factors could have a material impact on the Company's performance, including, without limitation: our results of operations could be adversely affected now that the stimulus funds of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are fully allocated and projections are nearing completion; National Broadband Plan’s transitioning from the USF to the CAF program may cause our customers and prospective customers to delay or reduce purchases; a significant percentage of our sales in the last three fiscal years have been made to a small number of customers, and the loss of these major customers would adversely affect us; intense competition in our industry may result in price reductions, lower gross profits and loss of market share; our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic conditions and the effects of these conditions on our customers’ businesses; our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter, which may make budgeting for expenses difficult and may negatively affect the market price of our common stock; to compete effectively, we must continually improve existing products and introduce new products that achieve market acceptance; we may face circumstances in the future that will result in impairment charges, including, but not limited to, significant goodwill impairment charges; we rely on single-source suppliers, which could cause delays, increases in costs or prevent us from completing customer orders, all of which could materially harm our business; we face risks associated with expanding our sales outside of the United States; our success depends upon adequate protection of our patent and intellectual property rights; further consolidation among our customers may result in the loss of some customers and may reduce sales during the pendency of business combinations and related integration activities; we are dependent on key personnel; product defects or the failure of our products to meet specifications could cause us to lose customers and sales or to incur unexpected expenses; and other factors set forth in Part I, Item IA. Risk Factors of Clearfield's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2015 as well as other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements to reflect actual events.




CLEARFIELD, INC.
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
UNAUDITED
   
 Three Months Ended 
 December 31 
 2015 2014 
       
Revenues$ 15,689,715  $ 13,986,620  
       
Cost of sales  9,012,919    8,244,106  
       
Gross profit  6,676,796    5,742,514  
       
Operating expenses      
Selling, general and administrative  4,697,015    4,125,997  
Income from operations  1,979,781    1,616,517  
       
Interest income  33,539    25,856  
Income before income taxes  2,013,320    1,642,373  
       
Income tax expense  630,000    573,000  
       
Net income$ 1,383,320  $ 1,069,373  
       
Net income per share:      
Basic $0.10   $0.08  
Diluted $0.10   $0.08  
       
Weighted average shares outstanding:      
Basic  13,288,679    13,222,180  
Diluted  13,575,162    13,581,434  



CLEARFIELD, INC.
CONDENSED BALANCED SHEETS
 
    (Unaudited)
December 31, 2015
    (Audited)
September 30, 2015
Assets     
Current Assets     
Cash and cash equivalents$ 20,699,033  $ 18,071,210 
Short-term investments  8,746,000    7,925,000 
Accounts receivable, net  5,019,660    6,010,900 
Inventories  6,943,519    7,182,854 
Other current assets  556,127    1,563,665 
Total current assets  41,964,339    40,753,629 
      
Property, plant and equipment, net  5,551,700    5,689,673 
      
Other Assets     
Long-term investments  6,767,000    8,290,000 
Goodwill  2,570,511    2,570,511 
Other  345,481    323,804 
Total other assets  9,682,992    11,184,315 
Total Assets$ 57,199,031  $ 57,627,617 
      
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity     
Current Liabilities     
Accounts payable$ 2,183,253  $ 2,357,791 
Accrued compensation  1,394,342    2,598,661 
Accrued expenses  103,387    80,803 
Total current liabilities  3,680,982    5,037,255 
      
Other Liabilities     
Deferred taxes – long-term  152,988    1,082,887 
Deferred rent  233,474    228,345 
Total other liabilities  386,462    1,311,232 
Total Liabilities  4,067,444    6,348,487 
 

Commitment and contingencies
  

 
   

 
 

Shareholders’ Equity
     
Common stock  137,062    137,057 
Additional paid-in capital  56,356,982    55,887,850 
Accumulated deficit  (3,362,457)   (4,745,777)
Total Shareholders’ Equity  53,131,587    51,279,130 
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity$ 57,199,031  $ 57,627,617 




CLEARFIELD, INC.
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
UNAUDITED
        
    Three Months
Ended
December 31,
  Three Months
Ended
December 31,
     2015    2014 
Cash flows from operating activities:       
Net income  $ 1,383,320  $ 1,069,373 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities:       
Depreciation and amortization    348,749    229,900 
Deferred income taxes    217,000    529,000 
Loss on disposal of assets    1,390    - 
Stock-based compensation expense    226,767    283,627 
Tax benefit from stock-based awards    (348,000)   - 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:       
Accounts receivable, net    991,240    372,879 
Inventories    239,335    31,187 
Other current assets    (146,494)   (222,800)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses    (1,003,144)   (1,219,481)
Net cash provided by operating activities    1,910,163    1,073,685 
        
Cash flows from investing activities:       
Purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets    (226,710)   (1,764,875)
Purchase of investments    (1,184,000)   (1,638,000)
Sale of investments    1,886,000    1,375,000 
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities    475,290    (2,027,875)
        
Cash flows from financing activities:       
Tax benefit from stock-based awards    348,000    - 
Repurchase of common stock    (257,242)   (170,170)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan    118,013    105,615 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock    34,990    1,276 
Tax withholding related to vesting of restricted stock grants
     (1,391)   - 
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities    242,370    (63,279)
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents    2,627,823    (1,017,469)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period    18,071,210    18,191,493 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period  $ 20,699,033  $ 17,174,024 
        
Supplemental cash flow information       
Cash paid during the year for income taxes  $ 15,884  $ - 
        
Non-cash financing activities       
Cashless exercise of stock options  $ 15,890  $ 3,220 

 

Investor Relations Contact:

Matt Glover and Najim Mostamand
Liolios Group, Inc.
949-574-3860
CLFD@liolios.com